Archive - The ICC Probe

The defense argued that both were absent for nearly the entire period covered by Counts 2 and 3 of the charges against Duterte, and had no direct knowledge of the instructions and operations carried out under his presidency. 

In an eight-page filing, Duterte’s lawyers urged Trial Chamber III to exclude the report and supporting documents from a prosecution expert identified as P-1400, who is expected to testify in the trial scheduled to begin on Nov. 30.

The prosecution in the case of former president Rodrigo Duterte at the International Criminal Court has asked the Trial Chamber III to admit as evidence the statements of a former police officer and member of the Davao Death Squad, who is no longer available to testify at trial. 

The prosecution at the International Criminal Court has asked judges to admit the pre-recorded testimonies of eight more witnesses, saying their evidence would challenge police claims of self-defense and establish the rise in drug-related killings under former president Rodrigo Duterte.

The defense of former president Rodrigo Duterte before the International Criminal Court has asked Trial Chamber III to reject a report associated with an unnamed prosecution witness, arguing that the testimony does not add substantial value to the case.

The prosecution at the International Criminal Court has sought to introduce the pre-recorded testimonies of seven additional witnesses who allegedly have evidence of extrajudicial killings in Davao City and across the Philippines under former president Rodrigo Duterte’s anti-drug campaign.

In its latest filing, the prosecution identified the witnesses as P-1097, P-1170 and P-1318, saying their accounts and supporting evidence would establish the Philippine National Police’s role in implementing Duterte’s anti-drug campaign and the alleged methods used to carry out and conceal killings.

Presiding Judge Joanna Korner stressed that while Duterte’s waiver of appearance was approved for the status conference, his attendance would be expected once the trial proper begins.

In an Oct. 27 filing signed by lead counsel Peter Haynes, the defense said it did not oppose admitting P-1370’s statement but urged the judges to reject the recorded testimonies of P-1393 and P-1416.

The prosecution maintained throughout the submitted applications that the defense, the trial judges, and common legal representatives of victims will have the opportunity to question the witnesses live at court. They added that granting the requests will expedite the proceedings at trial.

Duterte’s co-perpetrators named in the prosecution’s trial brief are senators Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa and Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, former national police chiefs Oscar Albayalde and Camilo Cascolan, former director of the National Bureau of Investigation Dante Gierran, former head of drug enforcement agency Isidro Lapeña, former justice secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II and former Manila Police District director Vicente Danao.

According to the redacted filing, the evidence covers police records on anti-drug operations, the structure and activities of the Davao Death Squad, Duterte’s alleged support for the killings, and the practice of placing placards on some victims of the drug war.

In a redacted filing dated Oct. 16, the prosecution asked the Trial Chamber III to allow it to submit the recorded testimonies of unnamed witnesses identified as P-1087, P-1151, P-1158, P-1161, and P-1204.

The prosecution in the crimes against humanity case of former president Rodrigo Duterte at the International Criminal Court intends to present five witnesses who will testify at this year’s trial that will start on Nov. 30.

Their testimonies concern alleged murders by Philippine National Police members in Central Luzon and a policy to “neutralize through violent crimes, including murder, alleged criminals in the Philippines,” according to the filing.

The charges against former president Rodrigo Duterte submitted by the prosecution in July 2025 and confirmed in April 2026 remain without changes as the Trial Chamber III of the International Criminal Court rejected the motion of the defense counsel to refile them.

The International Criminal Court Trial Chamber III released Thursday, Oct.8, its decision made on Sept. 28 that former president Rodrigo Duterte is fit to stand trial.

Five Chinese companies highlighted during the Senate impeachment trial as remitters to CALE88 Foods Corp., the banana chip exporter in which Vice  President Sara Duterte's husband, Manases Carpio, was a shareholder, reveal a  striking contrast in corporate profiles.